Forever & Always
by dreamofforever
Summary: When Eli goes away for school & Clare comes to celebrate their one year anniversary, things don't go as planned when they both must make their hardest desicion; save their loved one or save themselves. *Based on the Colorado shooting 20/07/12 and events Clare & Eli face leading up to it.
1. The Distance

***PLEASE READ* This story does not follow all of the events which happened on Degrassi. Most of which stayed the same, but not everything. This story is also based on events leading up to the Colorado shooting which took place last week. My heart goes out to all the families who lost or had a loved one in the hospital 3 Enjoy!**

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Chapter One: The Distance

"What if he goes crazy, like last time?" Ali said.

"He's changed. He'll understand. He's been seeing his therapist and taking his pills, he's different."

Something about Ali refering to Eli as 'crazy' made me want to gag. Is that what everyone still thought? Sure Eli has messed up in the past, but he had changed. He was already attending an amazing film school and his play had done great, things for Eli had just seemed to work out for him the way he had wanted.

"Well I hope so, you don't need people talking about you dating the bipolar boy." Ali started to rise. "I need to go to the office and talk to Simpson, wanna come?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I should probably call Eli and let him know."

Ali and I said our goodbyes and she walked down the hallway, disappearing at the corner.

I stayed sitting outside the caf wondering how to break the news to Eli. It was our one year anniversary and he had bought tickets for a screening of the new Batman movie. Although Batman wasn't my first choice, I knew Eli wanted to see it and the cast line-up was good enough for me.

He had a 'surprise' for me which Adam wouldn't even give me hints about. Eli was trying to keep everything a huge secret and all he would tell me was what we were going to see, _The Dark Knight Rises_. Although I love surprises, I hate the suspense.

I checked my watch and saw that the bell was going to ring in five minutes. I gathered my books and lunch and started towards my locker.

Ever since Eli and I had got back together things had been... amazing. As cliche as it is, were crazy in love. All the problems from last year, just didn't matter. Although Eli had wanted to go to NYU, he couldn't afford to financally, but he was offered a scholarship to a film school in Colorado. As upset he was with not going to NYU, he gladly accepted and flew to the Colorado Film School in Denver.

We had talked about breaking up, seeing as he would be so far away for most of the year, but we decided what we had been through can survive the distance and was worth the shot. He comes home on all holidays and even some weekends to see his family and me.

Since school was going to be cutting to break soon, my mom had agreed to let me go see Eli and spend a few days with him. I had saved up money from working at The Dot and Starbucks to buy my plane ticket. Eli had offered to pay, but I had told him to save his money for a plane ticket back home and see me before exams.

Convincing my mom to let me go was the hardest part. Glen and Jake had helped a lot by talking her into it. Her conditions of course were to sleep in seperate beds, like she'd know, and I could only go for four days. We had origionally planned to spend the whole week together, but I'd take what I could get.

When I got upstairs Adam was standing by my locker with his binders in hand. He wasn't paying attention as I walked over, he had his eyes glued to his phone.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." Adam said, without looking up.

"Who are you texting?"

"No one." He replied quickly.

I opened my locker and glanced at his phone from the corner of my eye. He was texting Eli. I switched my books and put what was left of my lunch on my top shelf. As I closed my locker Adam put his phone in his pocket and smiled.

"What?" I asked, suspicious.

"Nothing." He said, walking passed me towards class. I turned and ran to catch up with him.

"I miss you so much." Eli said, his face glowing from his laptop.

We had been skyping for almost two hours now. We were mostly just catching up and filling each other in on the past week. He had been really busy with editing a short film he had both filmed and directed. He wanted it to be perfect. We didn't have much time to sit down a skype, we mostly talked on the phone for a little bit or just sent quick texts.

He didn't look any different from when I saw him last month. His black hair was longer, almost covering his eyebrows. His face was skinnier, probably from only eating K.D. and canned soup. He had dark circles under his eyes, I was guessing it was from staying up and trying to make his movie the best he could in every way.

"I do too." I said into the webcam.

"But, I get to spend the entire week with you." I smiled shyly and my eyes dropped to my keyboard. "What's wrong?" Eli asked.

"I talked to my mom about it and she said I could go, but I can only stay for four days." I slowly looked up to Eli's face on my screen.

"Well, that's still better than nothing." Eli nodded. "So, are you still coming on Saturday?"

"Yeah, my mom just called the airport at the beginning of the week and changed my ticket to leave on Wednesday."

Eli smiled and sat back in his desk chair smirking. "Well that's a relief, at least I don't have to change or reschedule anything."

"You're still not going to tell me?" I pleaded. Eli smiled and shook his head.

"No way," He started. "A surprise is a surprise and I'm not going to be ruinning anything. This is going to be one of our best four days together, I promise."

We said our goodbyes soon after and signed off our computers. I had only one more day and then I'd be able to hug Eli and kiss him and tell him how much I love him. One day. One more sleep and then I'd be sleeping next to him, I'm eighteen years old and my mom couldn't stop me if she wanted to. I love Eli and respecting her wishes of coming home three days earlier was good enough.

I laid in my bed and closed my eyes, dreaming of what mine and Eli's life would be like the following year. No more planes, no more parents or highschool getting in the way.

I had applied to a few schools in Colorado. The one I really want to get into is the University of Denver. It has a great writing program and is only 20 minutes away from Eli's school and 15 minutes away from the apartment Eli is renting next month. Our plan was that I get into UD, stay in dorms for my first year and then move in with Eli that summer.

Of course everyone is saying that we wont make it, were high school crushes, not high school sweethearts. It didn't matter if people believed in us, we believed in each other and that's all we needed.

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**So please let me know what you think & if I should continue :) Thanks!**


	2. Kiss You Inside Out

**Thanks for the support so far! I had already wrote this and was waiting to post, but I figured I'd post it now so you can get more of an idea & more EClare ;) *Sorry for any spelling errors, I read it over, but spellcheck wasn't working so I may have missed some. Enjoy!**

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Chapter Two: Kiss You Inside Out

When I opened my eyes I saw the red seatbelt light go on. I looked out my window and saw all the city lights. In a matter of minutes I would be standing next to Eli and be in his arms. It had been a month and 17 days since I had last seen him. His parents flew him home for the weekend for his father's birthday. They invited me over to spend the weekend.

As hard as the long distance relationship is between Eli and I, I always remind myself that in only four months I'll be moving to Colorado and get to be with him. He'll come home in a month and stay with his parents until June, then fly back to Colorado and move into his new apartment. Then in August I'll be the one moving to Colorado and packing my bags.

My excitment couldn't be contained as I rushed off the plane to collect my luggage. Luckily, mine was one of the first to come. I made my way as quickly as I could to find arrivals.

I stopped when I saw a rush of people waiting for their loved ones to come through the doors. I looked around for Eli, but couldn't see him. I slowly walked towards the crowd, searching for him.

"Clare!" Someone called.

I scanned around me and saw Eli, wearing a plain white shirt and black jeans. He was waving his hand in the air with a smile on his face. I threw my bag over my shoulder and pulled my suitcase along as I ran towards him. We were both pushing through the flood of people. I pushed passed an older man and was caught into Eli's arms. Dropping my suitcase and bag I wrapped my arms around his neck as he swung me around.

"Ah, I've missed you so much!" Eli said, putting me on my feet.

"I have too." I said, staring into his eyes.

Eli smirked and put his hands on either side of my face. I tugged on his shirt and pulled him closer to me, allowing our longing lips to finally touch. His lips were as soft as I remembered and his breath hot on my face. I closed my eyes as he pulled me into his arms. Our kiss was a little too PDA for an airport, but we didn't care.

Eli pulled away first, resting his forehead on mine and closing his eyes. I smiled and pecked him on his lips. Eli's eyes opened and he pulled me tight into his chest once more before throwing my bag over his shoulder and pulling my suitcase.

We started making our way through the crowd again and finally made it outside in the cool spring air. I put my hand in Eli's as we walked towards the parking lot.

"We should probably hurry before all those people get out." Eli said as he unlock his truck.

Eli drove a red and silver chevrolet truck. I didn't know much about trucks but I'd say it was from at least the 1990's. He had bought it not long after moving to Denver. It took him a while to fix up some of the engine, but the person he had bought it from had just wanted it off their hands.

Eli threw my bags in the truck bed as I hoped into the passenger seat. Eli came around to his door and put the keys in the egnition. Before turning it he turned to me and slid across of the bench. He put his hand on my far hip and leaned over to kiss me.

It was much more passionate than the one in the airport, not as rushed and quick. Eli took his time, tracing my lips with his tongue and pulling me onto his lap. He moved my hair behind my ear and opened his eyes. We were in an underground parking lot, so we didn't have the best vision, but he looked over me and kissed me on my neck, slowly kissing his way to my ear.

"You're so beautiful, Clare." He whipered, kissing my cheek and finally back to my lips.

His hands traced my thighs and worked their way to my hips, playing with the lace of my undershirt. His hands then pulled my shirt up and I could feel the coolness of his hands on my bare hips. I laughed softly as I parted our lips.

"I don't think this is the most appropriate place for this." I said, watching Eli sigh with a mysterious grin. "Anyways, I thought you wanted to beat the traffic?"

Eli rolled his eyes and kissed me tenderly as I got off his lap and put on my seatbelt. Eli's apartment was about a 30 minute drive from the airport. He shared it with a roommate. He had been saving every extra penny to buy his own apartment for next year, thankful to find a one bedroom. It was halfway between his school and UD.

We figured that the farther from the campus we got the cheaper the rent was. Eli had said it was not a problem for him to drive to school and I would just take the bus or save up for my own car. Eli was trying to convince me to move in right away and save money on housing, but I wanted the dorm room expirence. Something about the dorms is what makes university so exciting. Meet new people, floor parties, and just getting away from parents.

Eli didn't have a problem missing out on the on-campus housing, he prefered to not get caught up in the parties and uneeded drama with roommates. He applied for an apartment with two single rooms and common kitchen, he liked his space and he could still have company. His roommate was opposite of him and was usually at his girlfriends or partying with friends around the university hill area. He didn't really understand that perspective, but he never pushed for me to change my mind on dorms.

When we finally reached Eli's apartment he lugged my bags up the stairs and into his room. His roommate, Sean, was home and engolfed in a polite conversation with me. He had reminded me of Adam when I'd first met him, but his personality was much more sharper.

I followed Eli into his room and sat on his bed. I could tell he had just made it within the minutes I was talking to Sean. No doubt he had went to sleep late last night and only woke up an hour before coming to get me. Same old Eli.

"Is that you're project?" I asked Eli, walking towards his open laptop.

"Uh, yeah." He said, throwing clothes into his closet and setting my suitcase in the corner. "It's almost done, it's just-" He said, trying to close his broken closet door. "-missing something."

"Can I watch it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction. Eli took off his socks and shook his head. "Why not?" I pleaded.

"When it's done and perfect, then you can watch it." Eli said, throwing his socks on the floor and turning off the light. I smirked and moved the mouse towards the play button, watching Eli's reaction. "Clare." Eli said sternly.

I raised my brow and clicked the left side of the mouse and watched as Eli flew across the room. He picked me up and threw me on the bed.

"I thought I said no, Clare." Eli said, laughing as he started to tickle me.

I began shouting for him to stop, my stomach hurting from laughing so hard. I couldn't breathe as he sat on top of me and tickled my arm pitts. Eli kept saying something, but I couldn't hear over my laughing.

"Eli-" I tried. "-I - I -"

"What's that Clare?" Eli laughed.

"Eli-stop!" I shouted. "I'm- I'm sorry!" Eli pinned my arms above my head and kissed my lips.

"That's the good little church Clare I know." Eli teased. He kissed me again on my nose and then rolled over the lay beside me.

I put my arm around Eli's stomach and laid my head on his chest. I felt his hand tracing circles on my back. I closed my eyes listening to his steady heartbeat pounding in my ear. Eli began humming a song softly to himself. I couldn't exactly catch the beat but it sounded like something from Queen.

"I can't wait until this is us," He said, breaking his tune, "Everynight."

"Mmmm," I said, feeling relaxed in his arms. Eli chuckled and kissed my head.

"You'd think you would be wide awake after sleeping the whole way here."

"I didn't get much sleep before that." I shrugged. "I was excited to see you."

"Well I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." Eli kissed my head once more. "You sleep and I'll be here when you wake up."

"Mmmm." I mumbled as Eli started humming again.

"I love you, Clare." Eli whispered just before my world went black.

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**Let me know what you think! Thanks again! :)**


	3. Take A Risk

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all you're support so far, you guys are amazing! So, in this chapter it's more of a filler, but theres lots of EClare at the end! So hope everyone likes it! Enjoy!**

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Chapter Three: Take A Risk

When I woke up the next morning I was snuggled in the comforters, wearing the same trackpants I had worn on the plane. I rolled away from the walls, expecting to see Eli's sleeping body beside me, but when I did he wasn't there. Eli was sitting infront of his laptop shirtless and wearing a pair of pajama bottoms.

"What are you doing?" I asked, stretching in the bed.

Eli didn't turn or even look at me. His eyes were locked on the screen and he was clicking on his mouse repeatidly. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around his shoulders. He had earphones in both of his ears and seemed to be working on his video.

I fell back onto the pillow and looked around Eli's room. He hadn't put many posters or pictures up. There was a picture of the Degrassi production team on his shelf and a picture of him in his graduation cap standing next to his parents. On his night stand there was a picture of me and him at his prom last year, his arms around my waist and both of us dressed up in formal clothes. I was surprised when Eli asked me to go with him to prom, I hadn't thought he would even want to go, but he didn't show any signs regretting it.

"You're awake?" I looked over to see Eli closing his laptop. "I thought you were still sleeping."

"I just woke up. Were you editing you're film still?" I asked moving to a sitting position.

"Uh," Eli said, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah. I'm just adding a few more things then hopfully it will be finished."

"Well that's good." I said, pulling the covers off of me. "Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you this?" Eli asked, smirking. "You are my guest." I laughed, sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Well then," I said. "Get on it."

Eli jumped to his feet and stood straight and tall in front of me. He did the salute sign and then started marching towards the door and made his way for the kitchen. I got up from the bed and went towards my suitcase to get out my shampoo and clothes. As I walked towards the bathroom I heard Eli starting the stove and whistling to himself.

"It's going to be huge!"

"Bigger than bigger!" I laughed.

"See, you know what I'm talking about," Eli laughed. "Adam is just losing it."

We had just got some groceries and dropped them off at the apartment, now we were just driving to where we ended up. We had talked about going to the Westlands Park and take a walk or look at some attractions they had there.

Eli and Adam were arguing over The Hives and their tour over the phone this morning. Adam saying it wasn't a big deal and that no one would even buy tickets for them when they could buy for someone else. Eli took that to heart.

We were just getting off highway 25 and going down Orchard Rd. The park was just down the road. Eli slowed the truck to a crawl and parked off on the side. We jumped out and Eli met me at the hood. He smiled at me than took my hand as we walked.

"So, what day were we planning on going to the movies?" I asked, looking around at the natural beauty of the park.

"Tuesday night." Eli said. "The midnight premier."

He squeezed my hand as we continued through. It was walks like these which kept us so close. We didn't need to talk to know and accept each other. Just the peace in the park and the sound of the water sprinkling from the fountain made everything just as perfect.

This was how it was suppose to be- Eli and I forever.

"Clare, when was the last time you took a risk?" Eli asked, eyeing me. "A real risk."

"I don't get how this is going to be fun." I said crossing my arms.

Eli sighed and walked up to me, rubbing my forearms. He leaned down and touched his lips to mine quickly.

"Just trust me." He whispered. I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." I cursed.

Eli started to laugh as he removed his shirt. I watched him strip down to his boxers. He stopped when he noticed I wasn't even budging. He grinned and slowly walked towards me, placing his hands on my shirt hem as he began kissing down my neck.

"Do you need help with these?" He whispered seductively in my ear.

His lips found mine as he started pulling my shirt over my head. My hands played with the muscles on his stomach as he carefully undid my pants.

Gently pushing me against the fence he kissed down my neck to my bra strap, pulling down on my jeans until they fell to my ankles.

I stepped out of them and tossed them with my foot to the side, catching Eli's lips with mine. I wrapped my arms and legs around him as he lifted me, trying not to break our kiss.

"Ready?" He said huskily in my ear.

I bit my lip and nodded, closing my eyes as Eli carried me.

I felt Eli's muscles tense as he broke out into a run, then we were airborne. I squeezed my eyes shut and put my face into Eli's neck, holding my breath as we impacted with the water.

While under water I released my grip around him and swam to the surface. The water was luke warm and relaxing under the stars. I began swimming towards the shallow end, hearing Eli catch his breath.

"See!" Eli called. "It's great!"

I rolled over to lay on my back as I watched him swim up to me. He pulled my body underneath his own, making sure to keep my head afloat.

"We could go even more riskier." Winked Eli.

He was playing with the clapse on the back of my bra, holding it between his fingers. I rolled my eyes and move a piece of his black hair from his eye.

"You don't have the guts." Eli joked as he released me from his hold.

I cocked my head slowly, eyeing him suspicously.

"What about you?" I asked. "I don't see you taking off the rest of you're clothes."

Eli smirked and then stood up in the shallow end, his hip bones just under the water. Then, all at once, Eli put his thumbs on either side of his boxers and pulled them down, catching them in his hand underwater.

I started laughing as he threw them in my direction. He swam up to me, keeping his distance.

"Now who doesn't have the guts, Edwards?"

He kept slowly coming closer to me as I retreated away from him. He was humming the Jaws theme song with his hand on his back, looking like a shark fin.

"Eli!" I screamed as I was backed into a corner. "Stop! Go away!" I laughed.

Eli stopped and looked behind me, all emotion removed from his face. I turned to see what he was staring at when he grabbed my arm and pushed me up the ladder out of the pool.

"Eli wha-"

"Shhh!"

He jumped out and pulled me over to wear our clothes were. He picked all them up and grabbed my hand, running to the side of the house.

"Climb over!" He whispered while throwing our clothes over the fence.

I did as he said and jumped down, putting my pants and shoes on. Eli put his boxers and shirt on then grabbed my hand a started running down the street. I trailed after him and stopped running as we turned the corner. I started laughing while Eli pulled his jeans on and looked around the corner.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked, turning towards me.

"You wanted risk," I began, "But right when the light turned on all the blood from you're face just disappeared!" I laughed.

Eli rolled his eyes as we put the rest of our clothes on and walked towards the truck to go home.

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**Just to let everyone know, since it doesn't really say, they went swimming in a random pool in someone's backyard. Not important, but just in case you were confused :) Anyways, what did you think? I wont be able to update until later this week or maybe the weekend, I start school tomorrow :( Anyways, thanks so much and I'd love to hear you're feedback! :)**


	4. I Love You

**Hi guys! Thanks so much for all the support so far, you guys are the best! Anyways, here's chapter four! We are nearing the end, but there's still going to be some twists and turns! Enjoy!**

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Chapter Four: I Love You

The next morning I woke up to the sound of my phone. I groaned as I rolled on my side. When I opened my eyes I was expecting to see Eli, but like yesterday, he wasn't there. I sat up and looked around the room. Eli wasn't here.

I got out of bed and went to my bag, searching for my phone. I didn't use it or check it for the past few days. My mom was probably freaking out wondering what was happening. The last message I sent was on the way to Eli's letting her know I landed safely.

I dug my phone from under my clothes and checked my messages. There was at least 50 text messages and 20 missed calls. I scrolled down to see if anyone other than my mom had texted me. There was only two from Jake telling me that my mom was freaking out and about to book a flight to Colorado and for me to call as soon as I could.

I sighed and dialed the home number, putting my phone to my ear. It rang twice and then my mother answered.

"Clare? Clare, is that you?"

"Yes mom, it's me."

"Why have you not been answering my texts or calls?" She asked, angry.

"We were out all yesterday and I never checked my phone before bed."

"Clare! What have I told you about-"

I sighed and went to go sit on the bed, listening to my mom lecture me about why I have a cell phone and how dangerous it can be just running the streets blah blah blah. I pulled the covers over my legs and noticed a folded piece of paper.

I held the phone between my ear and shoulder as I opened it. It was Eli's handwriting. I blocked my mom out while I read it.

_Good morning Beautiful, I just went out to grab some breakfast. I'll try to be home before you wake up. I love you Clare_

_-Eli_

"Clare are you even listening?" My mother yelled.

"Yes mom, I am." I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I scared you and never checked in, but I'm an adult now. Just because I don't answer every text or call doesn't mean I'm ignoring you or dying. I only get to see Eli once every month, I'm not going to stand by my phone the time we have together. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself, plus Eli is here. So please stop worrying about me so much and just let me enjoy the time I have with him."

I had to pull the phone away from my ear as she started to blow up and scream on the other end. I closed my eyes and leaned against the headboard. I heard the bedroom door open and saw Eli struggling to hold a bag and the drinks in one hand.

"I'm surprised you're-" Eli started. I stopped him and pointed to the phone. Eli just nodded and set down the food on his desk, handing me a warm cup. "It's tea, two milk two sugar." He whispered.

I mouthed thank-you and took a sip. Finally the line went quiet. I put the phone to my ear.

"-you get hurt." She said.

"Look, mom," I looked over at Eli who was picking through the bag with his back to me. "I'm staying an extra day. I'm an adult and I'm allowed to do what I want."

Eli turned to look at me, his face full of confusion.

"I will call you and text you when I get the chance. Me and Eli have a busy day today and I wont have time to talk. You need to let me have my space and stop babying me. I'll call the airport and sort everything out, you don't have to worry. You have Glen now at your side everyday, you don't need me every second. I'll call you later, I love you mom."

I hung up the phone and threw it to the end of the bed. I'm so grounded. Even though everything I said was true I know it hurt my mom, but she can't expect me to follow every wish she wants forever.

Eli came and sat next to me on the bed, handing me a bagel.

"So, what's this about you staying an extra day?" I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my bagel, chewing it slowly.

"Unless you have a problem with that." I said, raising my eyebrow. Eli just smirked and leaned towards me. His breath hot on my face.

"I defiantly," He whispered, lightly touching his lips to mine, "Do not have a problem with that."

"Butter or extra butter?"

"Extra butter!" I called. "Gore or no gore?"

"defiantly gore." Eli said, coming into the living room with a bowl of pop corn and two coca colas.

"Thought so." I smiled as I slipped the disc into the DVD player. I went to take a seat next to Eli on the couch, pulling the blanket over us as I snuggled into his side.

Sean had gone to his girlfriends for the night, which left Eli and I the livingroom. We had decided to lay low tonight, since tomorrow I would get my 'surprise' and we were going to see Batman.

The movie we were watching basically consisted of a group of girls diving into a cave and begin killed by mutants. This is why I am not the first person who jumps up and volunteers to go into random caves and get squashed between rocks. Yeah, no thanks.

There were many parts which made me jump. Each time Eli would tighten his grip around my shoulders and kiss my cheek, laughing at me.

When the ending credits began to roll on the screen I found the remote and turned off the tv, leaving us in the dark. I leaned my head back against Eli's chest. His hand was on my bare hip, tracing shapes with his cool fingers.

"I love you Clare." Eli said, kissing my ear.

I rolled over so I was on top of him. "I love you too." I whispered into the dark.

I could feel his hand pushing my hair behind my ears and rubbing my cheek. His forehead was against mine as he slowly moved his hands down to my hips, taking his time. He drove me crazy every time he did this. I twined my fingers in his hair and pressed our lips together. Our lips started to move as one. I traced his bottom lip with my tongue, something he would always do to me.

His hands were under my shirt, just at the bottom of my ribs, his thumbs rubbing soothingly. I lifted his shirt up to his armpits, feeling every inch of his stomach. His hands were on my back going up and down to the hem of my jeans.

I placed my legs on either side of his hip and sat up, pulling his shirt over his head. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled my lips back to his. His hands went back to my hips and travelled up to my stomach, bringing my shirt up with them. Pulling my shirt over my head Eli grabbed my legs and stood up. He placed me back on the couch and laid on top of me.

"You're so beautiful Clare." Eli growled as he nibbled on my neck.

I let out a small gasp, not expecting the rush it gave me. Eli chuckled and began kissing my neck. I let my hands start to explore. They trailed down Eli's stomach to his jeans. I slowly undid his belt and then his button and zipper. I pulled them down to his ankles while his hand travelled down to my hip.

He slowly slid down my body, kissing my bare skin as he did. He stopped when he got to my jeans. He slipped his hands around the button and pulled them down, leaving me in just my bra and underwear.

He brought his lips back to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he placed his hips on top of mine. I could feel something poking my thigh. My hands traced down his back to his boxers, playing with the elastic until my hands met at the front. I tugged down on them.

Eli pulled his lips from mine and hovered above me.

"Clare." He whispered in the dark. "I don't want to do something you'll regret."

We had only ever done this once. Eli was so careful with every move. Careful not to hurt me physically or emotionally. When we had finished we agreed we wouldn't do it again until we were living together and preparing to marry. It was the best night of my life. Being with Eli in that way had beat being with him every other way.

Usually we'd go farther than this, but he had kept us away from it for the past few months. I knew he understood my faith and religion, but I the way I looked at it was if you loved someone and knew you wanted to spend your life with them, you don't need to have rings to symbolize that love and intimacy. I knew I loved and trusted Eli, but he wasn't easily persuaded.

I leaned my head back against the arm of the couch and groaned.

"The only thing I regret is making that promise, Eli."

Eli sat up. I could feel him watching me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," I said, sitting up and putting my hands in his. "I love you and were moving in together in a year and then we'll get married when were finished school. I know what I want. I want you, Eli. All of you."

Eli moved closer and pulled me into a hug.

"I made you a promise." Eli said into my hair. "I promised that the next time we made love, you'd have a ring on your finger."

"But Eli-" He pushed his finger against my lips. He got up from the couch and went towards his room. Flicking on his bedroom light, I could hear him opening draws and digging for something. "Eli?" I called.

"Just stay there for a minute!" He called.

When Eli came out he turned his bedroom light off and closed his door behind him. I heard him stop in front of me.

"Come with me." He whispered, taking my hand.

He led me back towards his room, stopping at the door. He kissed my cheek and opened his door.

As I walked inside the room was lit with candles and flower pedals on the bed and floor. I slowly walked in and felt the pedals on the bed. Still so soft. I turned and stared at Eli.

"What is all of this?" I asked in shock. Eli slowly walked towards me, his hands behind his back.

"I was going to wait and do this tomorrow," He said, "But no matter way I do it, it'll still be you and me in the end."

His eyes never left mine as he walked towards me. Slowly his hands moved from behind him. They held a little black box. I felt the breath catch in my lungs as Eli crouched to one knee.

"Clare Edwards." He stated. "I love you and have since the first day I looked into you bright blue eyes. It's because of you I am the man I am. You inspire me, Clare. I never want to lose you."

I could feel the tears flooding from my eyes as I put my hands to my mouth.

"This isn't about sex or wanting, it's about love. The love I feel for you." Eli's lips twitched as the next words came from his mouth. "Clare Edwards, will you do me the honor to marry me?"

I was scared I wouldn't be able to speak as I opened my mouth.

"_Yes_." I cried. Eli got to his feet and wrapped his arms around me, twirling me around. He took the ring from the box and placed it on my left hand. I choked out another cry as a tear rolled from Eli's eye.

"I love you so much, Clare." He whispered.

"I love you so much, Eli."

That was the first night Eli and I made _love_.

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**So, what did everyone think? I hope you liked it & I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can! :) Thanks again for all your support! :)**


	5. Engaged

**Hey guys! Thanks for all your awesome reviews and support! Now just a heads up, this story is coming to an end :(I'm aiming right now at about five more chapters, but that's subject to change. I might make it longer maybe shorter. Either way, there is still a few BIG twists coming. Anyways, here's chapter 5! Enjoy! :)**

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Chapter Five: Engaged

"I can't believe this, Clare! I'm so happy for you! Right when you get home we need to celebrate!" Ali screamed into the phone.

"Well I may not be home until next week." I whispered.

I was standing in the hallway of the apartment building, just outside the door. Eli was still sleeping when I had woke up and I was dying to tell someone the news. I had called Ali the first chance I got. I knew she'd be supportive of the idea. I had considered telling my mom, but I knew I should tell her in person.

After last night I had done a lot of thinking.

Eli and I were engaged. I have a rock on my left hand and Eli had the key to my heart. He's everything I've wanted for the longest time. There was no words to describe last night.

I had eventually decided after consideration that if me and Eli were going to start a life soon, why would we wait? We were already destined to be married and we had already picked out an apartment, why was I holding back to move in? Eli had given up things for me including the apartment he lived in now. He did this just so I could be happy and he knew that having him around me made me happy.

Everything was falling into play perfectly, just as I had wanted it, but Eli's version had some changes. As his soon-to-be-wife I should have taken his feelings into more consideration. I was a monster. I was only thinking of myself and last night I had ruined my surprise just because I wanted sex.

I vowed to myself last night that I was going to put Eli in front of me. That's what marriage was about, putting the one you love before you. I'm happy when he's happy. Although he'd never admit it, I know it hurt him when I said I didn't want to move in right away. He had bought it for us, for me to save money, for me to be happy. Everything he had done was for _me_.

What had I done for him? Nothing.

"I'm thinking about staying here for a couple extra days." I said to Ali, leaning against the wall.

"Your mom is letting you stay? Your so lucky that you're 18 and get to fly away to be with your _fiancé_." She snickered.

"Well, not exactly. She has to work the day I get back, so Jake was going to pick me up. I figure I'll text her and tell her I'm going to my friend's house." I hesitated. "Maybe your place?"

"You realize if she finds out, she wont be too happy."

"Yeah I know, but she needs to realize that I'm moving out in a matter of a few months. If I'm old enough to be engaged and move into a home and go to school, I think I'm old enough to spend a few extra days here."

Ali considered this for a moment. "That's true, but hey, me and you are going to have a fun time when you're 'home'" We both laughed. "I have to go Clare, family stuff, text me later, okay?"

"Yeah sure, bye."

As I hung up the phone the apartment door opened. Eli was standing in his boxers with a lovely hair-do. He looked at me suspiciously.

"I thought I heard someone out here." He said. "When you weren't in bed I thought I was going to have to track you down and kill the bastard."

"Yeah," I laughed. "Looks like you were ready to come save me."

"Oh I was." He smirked, pulling on my hand to come inside.

Sean still wasn't home so we were alone. As I walked into the kitchen I jumped on the counter and swung my feet. Eli started the stove and began frying up some eggs and bacon.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked as Eli threw out an egg-shell. He turned towards me and came between my legs, wrapping his arms around the small of my back. "I could get use to you cooking me breakfast shirtless." I teased.

"Well Clare so-to-be Goldsworthy I promise that I will have breakfast on the table for you every morning, everyday for the rest our lives together."

I started smiling as Eli lined in to kiss me tenderly on the lips.

"I can't wait." I whispered.

"Clare, if you're not out here in one minute I'm taking the hooker in 203."

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I called, running down the hallway.

I ducked into the bathroom and quickly checked my make-up in the mirror. I heard Eli pacing back and forth in the livingroom. "Clare!" He said, poking his head into the bathroom.

"Sweetheart, you looked absolutely stunning, you're going to show up all the girls in the restaurant, but we kinda need to get there first."

I took one last quick glimpse in the mirror and we were off.

As we got in the car it was already getting dark. We had planned to go for dinner at a restaurant about 40 minutes away. I wasn't exactly familiar with Colorado so I didn't know where we were heading. All I knew was that on our way home we were stopping to go see the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rising. I think that's the only reason Eli wanted to hurry, so we could eat faster and then be one of the first people in line to get a good seat.

"The next few months without you is going to be so hard." He finally said.

We had just been seated for dinner. The restaurant was very fancy. Everyone wearing formal wear. The waiters and waitresses were in all black and the music playing was instrumental.

"Well," I said, turning to face him. "You come home in a month."

"Yeah, then I leave at the end of June." He snorted. "You're still in school. Plus, you need to study for all your classes, you don't need me around as a distraction."

"Wait, June?" I asked. "I thought you were coming to my graduation?"

Eli gazed up from his menu to me, I could see the sad look in his eyes. "Clare, I've meant to tell you. The landlord told me I can move in on June 20th. The only way I could keep all my furniture and stuff in Colorado was by renting out a storage garage. It's a lot of money to be pulling out of my ass when I also have to pay first two months rent and school."

I nodded slowly. I knew Eli wanted to be there for me. I knew he was so excited just to spend a week together before moving back here. He tried to do everything in his will to make me happy. I thought about what I had said this morning.

"Clare, you know I wouldn't just miss your graduation." He was saying. "But ever since my parents lost all that extra money I need to rely on myself now. That apartment is expensive and until you move in-"

"Eli." I cut. "Don't worry about it. I know how much you want to be there. It's fine."

As Eli stared at me, I could see his expression change to confusion.

"I was thinking this morning." I began, choosing my words wisely. "Say I moved in to the in with you... in June."

"I would love that, but you have to finish exams and your graduation."

"What if I didn't though." I said, biting my lip.

Eli's lips twitched. His face arose into a bright smile. "Then you'd be moving in with me."

"Eli?"

"Yes, Clare?" He laughed.

"I don't want to go to graduation and I don't want to live in the dorms." Eli raised his eyebrow. "I was checking my school profile and I already have all my credits because I had done summer school the past 3 years. The classes I'm taking now were just fillers. I don't even need them. I can get my diploma mailed and I can help you renovate _our_ apartment. Plus with the money I'd be saving by not living in dorms I could buy a car or even save for my second year."

I had said all of that within 10 seconds. My mind was rushing because I didn't want Eli to interrupt and tell me how insane I sounded. I bit my lip as I watched Eli consider everything I had just said.

He started smiling as he took my hand. He held it to his lips and kissed it softly.

"I'm not agreeing to anything." Eli finally said. "But, I cannot wait to start our lives together."

We ordered our meals and I was surprised with a dessert and bottle of wine.

After our dinner we headed back to the truck. We had to park in the very back of the parking lot because it was so busy. There were no lights back there, just the light given off from the moon.

It was almost 10 o'clock as we made our way hand in hand to the truck. Eli had put the bottle in my purse so we could take it home and save it. Like a gentleman, he opened and closed the door for me than ran to get into the driver's seat.

"Are you ready?" I asked as Eli just sat in his seat, staring ahead at the dark lining of trees. "Eli?"

"Clare," He whispered. "Do you feel like I'm ... pressuring you to marry me?"

He turned to face me as I stared at him in shock. Where was this coming from? We had an amazing night. We laughed and ate and enjoyed the music, why was he suddenly second-guessing everything?

"Where is this coming from?

"Please," His cracking voice said. "Tell me the truth."

"No you're not pressuring me into anything. I want to be with you. I want to marry you and wait up next to you for the rest of my life, Eli."

He nodded slowly.

"Why would you think that?"

Eli looked up slowly and looked me in the eye. "Don't be mad." He said. "You're mom called my phone this morning, she said you're was busy. I ... I told her that we were ... engaged."

"You did what?!" I screamed.

"Don't get mad, just hear me out, okay?" I sat back in anger.

"She started asking me what my intentions were with you and she told me about your faith and how marriage is apart of it and I don't know, okay? She just really got to me and made it sound like I couldn't make a commitment to you. I just kind of blurted it out."

"So how does that make you feel like you're pressuring me?"

Eli shrugged. "You're mom told me the only reason why you'd marry me is because you feel bad. She said I had pressured you to be in a relationship and I was the reason you didn't want to come home anymore."

"You thought I said yes to you because I felt bad?" I questioned. He nodded slowly.

"I guess."

I moved over the truck bench so I was sitting beside him. I placed my hand on his cheek and stared into his eyes. I slowly brought our lips together and left him a lingering kiss.

"You never pressured me into anything." I whispered. "I love you, forever and always."

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**So, lemme know what everyone thought! I'm so pumped for tomorrow, Friday! I'll probably have the next chapter up by Saturday maybe even tomorrow night :) Hope you guys are ready for Degrassi tonight! What do you think is going to happen? I think Clare will tell Eli & he will go craycray or Clare will chicken out. My assumptions! ahaha anyways, have a good night everyone & review? Thanks! :)**


	6. Wanna Watch the World Burn

**So, here's chapter 6. Thanks for everyone who has been following and reviewing, means the world! :) Enjoy!**

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Wanna Watch the World Burn

Eli and I were on our way now to the movie theater. We were hoping that by the time we got there we could get close to the front of the line and be able to get a good seat. We were just coming up the highway now.

"Eli?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Yes, my beautiful fiance?" We both smiled as he grabbed my hand.

"Do you think we'll be able to raise a family one day?"

Eli looked over at me quickly. He looked almost confused by my question.

"Where is this coming from?" He asked.

"Say we get married. We finish school. We buy a house. We start our careers. I don't want to be an old parent, you know?" I looked down at our twined hands. "By the time we finish everything were going to be old."

Eli started laughing and kissed our hands.

"Clare, I'm only in school for four years and so are you. Whenever you want to get married, we will. If you want to buy our first house in our second year of school, I'll buy you a home. Clare, when you want anything, just tell me and I'll stop at nothing until it's done right."

Eli was always sweet like this. I knew he would do anything he could to make me happy. That was Eli. That's how he was. If I wanted a house, he'd drop out to get me one. If I wanted kids, I knew he'd do anything he could to give me them.

"I love you, you know that right?" I smiled.

"As I love you Ms. Edwards." Eli said.

"Soon to be Mrs."

"My Mrs. Goldsworthy." I could see Eli smirking. I leaned against his arm as we continued down the highway.

"Are you ready for this?" Eli asked, opening my door for me. I hopped out and took Eli's hand as he shut the door.

"Are you?" I asked. Eli just smirked and we walked up to the movie entrance.

Eli had bought our tickets before-hand. There were already a small crowd of people. The only movie playing this late was The Dark Knight, thankfully it wasn't as busy as we knew it was going to get.

Eli had bought us popcorn and sodas as we waited in line. There was only a few more minutes until they were going to let us into the theater. There was over 50 people now. Eli was jumping up and down, he had waited for this movie since production started.

"Your not going to be one of those people who start clapping in the theater, are you?"

"Psh," He said, looking down at me. "I wasn't the one who cried during Twilight."

"Touche."

Eli leaned down and kissed me softly. "Me. You. Tonight." He said against my lips, kissing them each time he spoke.

"Let's just make it through tonight first, alright?" I laughed.

"Tease." Eli joked. I rolled my eyes just as everyone started to cheer.

We were being let into the theater now. Eli held the small of my back and led us into the theater. We walked down the aisle and almost all the way to the wall. We sat down and Eli removed his jacket. We were about halfway up the aisle, closer to the screen than the door.

Eli touched my knee and leaned over to whisper to me. "Clare, there's an exit door over there. If you get to frisky, I'm going to have to kick you out."

I hit him playfully in the arm and laughed. Just then we looked over and saw a man exiting the door.

"I guess his girlfriend thought he was getting too frisky." We joked.

We chewed down on the popcorn as the previews began. Eli kept tapping my leg, excited for the movie. Some people in the audience began to clap in excitement.

It was about 20 minutes into the movie when Eli turned to me and kissed my ear.

"Are you frisky baby?" He asked, laughing. I shook my head.

"No, I thought you wanted to watch this?" I whispered.

"Well I can always come back, plus it's just one scene." His hand was travelling up my thigh.

"Eli!" I whispered. "Were in a theater."

Eli chuckled and bit my ear playfully. "We've done worse."

I could feel my cheeks going red.

"Do you want to make a quick washroom break?" He whispered.

I turned my head so our lips could touch, then I lightly pushed him away.

"After the movie." I whispered, kissing his nose.

He moaned and leaned back in his chair. When we looked back to the screen we saw smoke slowly rising. I could hear the kids and parents behind us commenting on the effect. They really go all out on midnight premiers.

Then people started running up the aisles. Women and children screaming and guys trying to rush. That's when we heard gunfire. A man running up the aisle fell to the ground.

"Eli!" I screamed.

Everyone was rushing to get up and run. I looked back into the smoke a saw a man walking up the aisle. All I could see was the gun in his right hand, aiming and shooting at the running audience.

"Clare, get down!" Eli tugged me towards the end of the aisle. We were crouching. something fell on me. I turned and saw a man with a gunshot wound in his shoulder. His pupils were getting larger and larger. Then, he fell to my feet.

"Clare!" Eli said, holding my shoulders. "We need to leave now!"

There was people falling, screaming, and running everywhere. Eli and I were still halfway from the door. The smoke hadn't hit us yet. I looked over and saw the gunman again. His back was to us, his gun aimed at a young couple. I heard the girl scream as the boy fell to the ground at her feet. Her scream was cut short after another shot was fired.

Tears filled my eyes. There was still so much I hadn't got to do in life. So much I hadn't told Eli. We were suppose to start our life together. I would never get the chance to feel the love and intimacy between Eli and I, the warmth of his hugs, the feeling in my gut as I walk down the aisle to see Eli in a tux, or even the feeling of Eli's baby moving inside my stomach.

I'd never get the chance to do any of these.

"Clare!" Eli said.

We made it in the aisle. He pulled me behind him as we started running from the man. People were falling all around us. I had to jump over the people who laid on the ground. I wasn't sure if they were dead or alive. The tears kept blocking my vision.

I tripped over someones body. I felt the warm blood staining my clothes. My hand broke from Eli's.

"Eli!" I screamed. "Eli!"

I could just see Eli's face pushing back down the aisle towards me. Everyone kept pushing him back towards the door. I tried getting to my feet, but I was too weak. Then I heard Eli's voice over all the screams and all the gun fire. I had to make it back to Eli.

I made it to my feet and dragged myself to the door.

"Clare!" His voice cracked as he finally made it through the crowd.

He wasn't looking at me though. He was looking behind me. I went to turn to see but as I did, Eli took me into a hug and forced his back towards the gunman. His pupils grew as a shot was fired. I felt his body go limp in my arms.

"No!" I screamed, tears streaming from my eyes. "Eli! Come on! Eli! Eli we need to leave!"

I tried pulling him up the aisle. People were passing me, some of them falling to the ground.

"Help!" I screamed, looking into Eli's eyes. "Help me! Please!"

The girl screaming to vulnerable was not Clare Edwards. It was someone different all together. It was a weak girl.

Eli's weight was lifted from me as a man held his waist and carried him from the theater. I followed them quickly. The light outside in the lobby blinded me. There was a loud beeping noise. It must have been an emergency evacuation.

When we made it outside to the night the man carrying Eli brought us over a hill and then laid him in the grass. I threw myself to the ground at his sides.

"Eli!" I cried. "Baby answer me!"

"He has a heart beat." The man who had carried him out said. He removed his shirt and rolled Eli onto his side. He put his shirt on Eli's wound. "Keep pressure on it, I'll go find help."

I put my hands on his shirt which was already drenched in Eli's blood. I couldn't stop crying. I looked up hearing a women's scream. There was a girl laying a yard from me holding another girl in her arms.

I looked down and saw Eli. His body limp and his eyes now closed.

I leaned down and touch my lips to his forehead.

"I love you so much, Eli." I whimpered. "I'm going to get you safe, we're going to get married and have a family." The tears fell down my face as the man had returned let me know the ambulances were coming.

"You can't leave me." I whispered cuddling his head in my lap. "You can't leave me."

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**Awh :( So what did everyone think? This is NOT the end of the story! I'll post somtime this week. Review? Thanks again for everyone's support, your all amazing! Thanks!**


	7. Keeping the Promise I Made

**Hey everyone! I somehow finished chapter 7! Were slowly coming to an end, but there is still some more twists and turns! Hope you all like it!**

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Keeping the Promise I Made

_A new day dawns once again.  
_

_I stare at where you used to lay your head.  
_

_I close my eyes, your face I plainly see.  
_

_That smile that could always bring me to my knees.  
_

_Those eyes that saw into the very soul of me.  
_

_My heart aches for the touch of your hands on my skin.  
_

_The taste of your kiss on my lips.  
_

_I've come to understand what the meaning of loneliness is.  
_

_I wipe away a tear.  
_

_It's almost more than I can bear.  
_

_I pray for the strength to get me through another day without you._

_XXX_

The pain was unbearable. I could feel the life slipping out of me. What was I suppose to do now? Eli was my one and only love. He was the man I was going to marry. The man I was going to move in with and spend my life with. Eli was who I was always meant to be with. It was what God's plan had been since the first day we met.

I watched as another tear rolled to the floor. I had stopped wiping them at this point, I knew they weren't going to stop.

_XXX_

When the paramedics first came to help Eli all I could hear was my heart pounding. There was no sound. It was another breezy day in High Park. Eli and I laying under the blue sky with our picnic basket beside us. I was snuggled into his side and he played with my hair. No one was around. It was just us.

When I felt Eli being pulled away from me I was snapped back into the reality of what had happened. A paramedic was taking him to a stretcher.

Another man held onto my shoulders as I tried to go with him. They told me I needed to be examined. What I couldn't understand was, why were they wasting their time on me when Eli was the one shot? Eli was the one who needed all the care, not me.

I don't remember how I had got to the hospital or how I had got into a gown and bed. I assumed I was in the hospital. For just an instant though, I thought I was waking up from a bad dream.

That was disregarded as I saw a girl about my age next to me. She must have been sleeping.

I knew if I wasn't dreaming, then Eli was somewhere here. He had to be. I sprang from my bed and walked out of the room. The glossy floor was cool against my hot feet. I slipped away and found the nearest desk. I caught the nurses attention.

"I need to find my fiancé." I said, I could feel my voicing beginning to crack. "He was shot. His name is Elijah Goldsworthy."

"I'm going to need you to return to your room." The nurse said, her face saddened.

"No." I said, forcing back my tears. "I need to see him. I need to know he's okay."

The nurse watched me as I could feel my tears falling down my cheeks. She sighed and began to type something into her computer.

"He's in the east wing. On floor 2 room 2908." She said. I thanked her and made my way to the elevator.

I had no idea where I was going, all I knew was I needed to see him. I need to feel his hand wrapped around mine. I needed him.

Somehow I managed my way to floor two and walked down the hallway, peering at the room numbers.

2903.

2904.

2905.

My breath caught in my throat as I walked along the rooms.

2906.

What if he wasn't there? What if he was in surgery or something?

2907.

What was I going to do without him here?

2908.

I stopped and held my breath as I opened the door to room 2909. In the far corner was a limp body. There was a loud _beep... beep... beep_ coming from a monitor beside his bed. Eli had a large tub in his mouth. His eyes shut and his hair pushed from his eyes.

Steadily I made my way to the side of his bed. I put my hand in his and leaned over him so our foreheads were touching. I used my free hand to gently rub his cheek.

My tears started to fall.

"Eli." I whispered. "Baby, wake up." I knew he wasn't going to open his eyes.

"I'm sorry Ms, but you cannot be in here." Someone said behind me.

I turned and saw a man in a white coat. My tears blurred my vision as I started to sink to the floor. The man came over and helped me to my feet, bringing me to a chair in the corner.

"Are you alright?" He asked. I shook my head.

"E-" I cried. "Eli."

"You know him?" I nodded. The doctor shook his head and opened a folder he had. "You must be Clare Edwards?"

I nodded slowly, finally gaining the ability to see clearly.

"Clare, Eli's family is on their way. They told me about his girlfriend and we have also contacted you're mother." The doctor stated.

"Finance." I whispered, staring at Eli.

"Pardon?"

"I'm his fiance." I said, holding up my hand. The doctor nodded and leaned against the foot of Eli's bed.

"As you know, Eli was shot. Thankfully it missed his spin, however he lost a lot of blood. Due to the blood loss, he was put into shock almost immediately. Right now he is a coma. Were estimating it to be a few days, but some cases like this can be up to weeks."

My head fell into my lap as I sobbed. What if he never woke up?

Then, I felt a strange twist in my stomach. I opened my mouth and threw up onto the pearl white floor.

"Clare!" The doctor said, touching to my back. "Clare, are you okay?"

I wiped my mouth and nodded. "I'm fine." I coughed.

"Let's get you cleaned up." The doctor said, helping me to my feet.

_XXX_

I sat in a chair next to Eli. His hand in mine. Cece and Bullfrog had arrived about a week ago. They had stayed at a hotel, seeing as Eli's apartment wasn't big enough. My mom had also come. It was the first time in my relationship with Eli she had asked how he was.

She tried convincing me to come home with her. After I told her about my engagement to him, she dropped it. She gave me the lecture of how young we were and not knowing what we were doing, but under the circumstances I asked her to keep her opinions to herself.

My mom was staying at the same hotel as Bullfrog and Cece. She only came to the hospital for an hour a day, just to know if anything had changed or if I would come home. Everytime my answer was the same. Eli and I would soon be making a commitment 'through sickness and health', this was God's test for me.

I wasn't abandoning Eli in his most vulnerable time.

Eli's parents had left to go get coffee and lunch. They stayed here when they could and usually drove me back to Eli's apartment, where I was staying.

It still amazed me how family members were not allowed to stay with their loved ones. What if he had woken up? I'd be at the apartment sitting in the bathroom throwing up.

"Clare?" I heard behind me. I turned in my chair and saw Cece smiling. "We brought you a bagel and come coffee."

"Thanks, I'm starving." I said, taking them from her.

"We were going to head back to the hotel in about an hour. Is that alright?" I nodded slowly.

"I just hate leaving him like this." I whispered. "If he woke up and was just surrounded by strangers ..."

"I know, honey." Cece said, squeezing my shoulder. "But the doctors said they'd call right away and we just have to trust them. I'm going to head back to the cafeteria, call my cell if you need us."

"Thanks." I whispered as she left.

I reluctantly let go of Eli's hand and ate away at my bagel. For hospital food, it wasn't half as bad as you'd think. The coffee was a little bland, but Cece probably just put one sugar. I set the coffee on the bed stand next to me and took another bite of the bagel.

As I chewed on it, something wasn't right. I quickly ran to the washroom and sat next to the toilet. The bagel bits I had just swallowed came up as I held my hair away from my mouth.

This was the worst feeling in the world.

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**So, what did everyone think? :) Thanks for everyone's support and awesome reviews, I love hearing what everyone has to say! I'll have the next chapter posted as soon as I can! Thanks a ton! :)**


	8. Surprises

**So I thought I'd get this chapter up sooner than later. Just a few things. First off, prepare yourself for this chapter. No one had mentioned at all if they had any suspicions, but some of you may not see this coming. Second, we are almost finished :( There will only a few more chapters left until the end. :( **

**On another note there's still lots to get through ;) So thank you to everyone who has been following, this chapter is dedicated to all of you! Enjoy!**

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Surprises

I laid in Eli's bed and stared into space. My eyes were swollen from crying so much and Cece had insisted I stayed at home and rested. It had been almost two weeks since Eli was emitted to the hospital. Two weeks without him felt like five years. The doctors never seemed sure what to say to us anymore, all they would tell us is that he should wake up soon. Soon was starting to feel longer each day.

My mom had to leave back home. I had told her I wasn't leaving Eli's side until he was awake. She didn't approve of me staying here, missing school and work, but Eli was my life. I wasn't going to go listen to teachers rant when he was here. What kind of person would that make me? I could almost hear Eli disagreeing with me.

_"You need your education, Clare. Stop being so stubborn."_

I rolled onto my side and looked at Eli's desk. His laptop had remained untouched since the morning of the shooting.

Slowly I got to my feet and sat in the desk chair. I opened his laptop and waited for it to turn on. I wanted to know any news about the man who had done this, the man who had put so many people through hell. I had watched some of the news where they had confirmed at least nine people dead and even more in critical condition. There was a girl, only six years old, who was shot. They said she had just learned how to swim. To think that one man could have done all this to torture her family in that way, made me want to cry.

As the internet opened I was brought right to . One of the headlines was a feature of the shooting. There was a picture of the man. I held my breath as I opened it. I couldn't see his face in the dark theater. I couldn't see much of anything if I recalled, my eyes were too blurry with my tears.

When the picture loaded onto the screen I was in shock. I had remembered seeing his face in the line up outside. Eli and I had joked that he looked like he was the Joker from the first Dark Knight movie. Tears stung my eyes as his face burned into my screen. I had _seen_ him. This was the man who had put Eli in the hospital. This was the man who had killed and injured so many people. He was the man who had exited the doors when Eli had joked about sending me out them.

Right before the smoke had risen, Eli had wanted to leave. I was the one who had made him stay in our seats. I had told him that we were staying to watch it. If we had left when he wanted to, we could have avoided everything. Eli wouldn't be in the hospital and I wouldn't have to replay to horrid screams in my head. Eli and I could have avoided everything.

I felt the awful taste of vomit coming up my throat. I turned to the garbage and leaned over my legs. I had thrown up a lot lately. At first I had thought it was just because of the circumstances, but that's what seemed to get me out of bed early in the morning.

I ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wet a cloth. I had missed some of the garbage can. I got on my knees and starting to scrub the carpet. I tossed a piece of paper into the garbage and noticed something under my puke. It had Eli's writing on it. I slipped my hand in to pick up, wiping it off. I opened it and read over the words Eli had carefully scratched down.

It was the letter he had written for me, letting me know he had gone to get breakfast. I held it to my chest and began to pant. I couldn't breath and the tears were hardly falling anymore.

"Clare?" Someone whispered at the door. I looked over and saw Sean standing in the doorway. I sat cross-legged and put my face in my hands.

He came and sat beside me, securing his arm around my shoulders. He scrunched his nose as he took in the awful smell.

"Did you throw up?" He asked. I nodded slowly trying to control myself. "Clare, I'm no doctor, but the amount that you've thrown up is not healthy. Almost every morning I can hear you in the bathroom."

I wasn't paying attention to his comments. Ever since Eli had been in the hospital, Sean took it among himself to watch out for me when he was here. It did bother me. I didn't need someone looking over their shoulder to check if I had moved an inch. I knew he was doing it for Eli, but it came to the point of annoyance.

"Clare, did you hear me?" He asked, snapping me from my thought. "I think we should see a doctor. Maybe they'll give you something to stop from puking you're brains out."

I nodded slowly as Sean helped me to my feet.

_XXX_

"It wasn't that bad, now was it?" Sean said, rubbing my hand gripped on the bed.

We had somehow managed to get me in the car and to the clinic. I hated doctors. All I wanted to do was go back to the hospital and lay next to Eli. I just wanted to put his hand in mine and cuddle next to him until he woke up. I knew this was just a fantasy, but it didn't make me want it any less.

Sean had explained to the doctor that I had thrown up a lot. He mentioned to her about my lack of sleep and the recent trauma I had just went through. I wasn't listening to her as she gave her apologies.

She had asked to take a blood sample and make sure that everything was alright _inside_ of me. I could tell her already that it wasn't. The pains and ache in my heart were never going to be mended. Even if Eli did wake up, nothing could erase what I had to go through.

Just remembering Eli's blank look into my eyes before he fell into my arms... I couldnt handle it. Everyone just screaming and running and no one helping me. They must have seen the struggle I was going through, but they only worried about themselves. Eli came to to save me and I couldn;t just leave him there after he took the bullet for _me_.

"Your results should be finished in a few minutes," The doctor said, coming back into the room. "I'm going to prescribe you some pills which may help your sleeping patterns. You need to take 2 a day, one when you wake up and one before you sleep. After about a week then you can start to take 1 a day just before you sleep."

I nodded slowly as Sean rubbed my back.

It never occurred to me and Sean and I had built a strong friendship after the times I had visited. Eli and him were good friends of course, but Sean wasn't being here for Eli, he was here for me.

"I'm just going to fill this prescription and I'll be right back."

The doctor left the room while Sean took a seat beside the bed. He let out a loud sigh and put his hands on his knees, fiddling his fingers around. It was clear that he was getting anxious now. We waited in the waiting room for at least two hours and it was really stuffy in here.

He was just about to say something as the door swung open. He jumped to his feet and went to me side as the doctor stood in front of us.

"Clare," She asked. "I have some news which may or may not come as a shock to you."

I eyed her unsure. I didn't need anymore bad news for the rest of my life. The past few weeks were enough for anyone.

"Congratulation..."

_XXX_

I stared blankly at the white walls in the hospital. I had sat in the hallway outside Eli's room for an hour now. Even with him asleep I wasn't sure how I would be able to face him with this news.

How was I suppose to go through this alone? My mom wasn't here and she would probably kill me if she was, Ali was thousands of miles away, and the one person I needed the most was struggling for his life.

"Clare?" Cece said, coming down the hallway. Bullfrog was right behind her. "Sweetie, I got your message and came as soon as I could. What's wrong? Did Eli wake up?"

I shook my head and felt a tear slip from my eye.

"Honey?" She said, grasping my shoulders. "What is it?"

"I ... I'm ..."

My face dropped to the floor as I exploded with tears. Cece wrapped her arms around me and hushed me. She rocked us back and forth. Her hugs reminded me of Eli's. Strong and protective, but so gentle and loving. She kissed my forehead and started leading us down the hall.

"Let's get you something to eat, okay?" I nodded as we made out way towards the cafeteria.

_XXX_

"Your mom called." Cece said. "She said you haven't been answering any calls."

Cece and I were sitting across from one another. Bullfrog had left to go get some fresh air. After I had finally calmed down Cece bought us some tea and cookies. I wasn't sure how to tell her this. What would she think of me? Her one and only son is in a coma and I just charge her with this news?

"Clare, hun, talk to me." She placed her hand over mine, her eyes grieving with pain.

I sighed and bent my head down. There was no easy way to tell her so I came out and said it. Cece's eyes bulged open when the words left my mouth. She shook her head as her lips curved into a soft smile.

"Oh Clare." She whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

I felt mine doing the same, but for another reason altogether. Eli wasn't here with me. He was supposed to be with me every step of the way for this experience of my life. Of _our_ life.

"I can't..." I whispered, my voice cracking. "I can't do this without him."

Cece came around the table and hugged me. She whispered into my hair.

"He's coming back to us, Clare. He's strong enough to make it through this, I promise."

_XXX_

I slowly opened the door as I walked into Eli's hospital room. He hadn't moved since the first day I'd seen him. The large tub was still in his mouth and the same beeping noise.

I walked up to the side of his bed and took a seat in the chair. I put my hand in his and rested my chin on the side of the mattress.

"Hi." I whispered. A single tear rolled off my cheek as he didn't reply to me. "I- I went to the doctors last night. They told me some news."

Eli's hand was warm. Warmer than it had been before. I stared at our twined hands and waited to see if they'd move. There were times before when I thought I had witness him waking up, but every time he never opened his eyes.

"You need to come back to me." I cried. "I can't go through this alone."

There was still no movement. The doctor had said that sometimes talking to them could help bring them back, but that was just a theory and was never proved to be true. I didn't care though. I knew Eli was strong enough to come out of this.

"You have to come out of this Eli." I whispered. "For _us_."

I brought my free hand to my stomach and got to my feet. I carefully place Eli's hand on my stomach as well.

"We _both_ need you."

* * *

**Oh no what I have done?! Ahaha. So lemme know what everyone thinks is going to happen! Will Eli be able to pull through? Or will Clare have to raise this baby all on her own? Lemme know your thoughts, thanks so much for all the support! :)**


	9. You're Everything

**Here we go, chapter 9! :) It's a little iffy, I kinda rushed. **

* * *

You're Everything

_"Clare! Clare run no-"A single tear fell across Eli's cheek, a red stain coming through his shirt. _

I threw myself up in the bed. Tears stung my eyes as I looked around Eli's room.

"It was just a dream." I whispered, trying to calm down.

Ever since the shooting I had been haunted by nightmares of Eli trying to save me before himself. Trying to get us both out. Every time I pulled him along with him, the bullet seemed to always miss me and hit Eli. Were these dreams ever going to leave me alone? Was I ever going to be able to save Eli?

I wished more than anything that I was the one in the hospital bed right now. I wish the bullet had got me, not Eli. If he had just pushed his way out of the theater, he would never have been in the place he is in now. Then again, I wouldn't want Eli to be feeling the guilt I was now if the roles had been reversed. Plus, I had to take care of _two_ people.

It didn't surprise me when the doctor told me how far along I was. The night in which Eli had proposed was when our lives had really changed forever. I had always pictured having two babies. One, the boy, just like his daddy with my fair skin. The second was a girl, again, just like Eli. I didn't want them to have any of my physical features. Eli was the one who had the perfectly sculpted face, slender build, and his adoring signature smirk. Our little boy _needed_ to have that same smirk.

I smiled to myself.

This is real. I'm pregnant with Eli's child. Eli is going to be a dad and I'm going to be a mom. We'll have to buy furniture and buy a car seat. There was so many things which needed to be done before a babies arrival, but I couldn't even think of any of that now. The only thing which circled my mind was that Eli might not be there for that. He might not be the one to drive me to the hospital at 4 in the morning or have to drive home to grab the diaper bag. The truth was, Eli might not pull through. As much as I didn't want to believe this, it still lingered in the back of my mind.

As I rolled out of the bed and headed down the hallway to the washroom, the door bell rang. I went to go answer it and fixed my hair before pulling the knob.

"Good morning, Sweetie!" Cece churned as she stepped inside. Bullfrog wasn't with her, probably still sleeping or at the hospital. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm ... better." This wasn't exactly a lie. I was doing better. I had accepted the fact that I was pregnant and accepted that the events which occurred almost 3 weeks ago, was not my fault.

"How's you eating been?" Cece eyed me suspiciously.

After telling Cece I was pregnant, she was beyond happy for me. Although I know she wished we would have waited and that Eli was there for the moment, she was excited to be a grandma. Cece had said that this baby was the one good thing to come of the shooting. I knew if I had told my mother, she wouldn't agree with that statement.

Ever since telling her though, she had been watching my health, which I was happy for. When Eli had first went into the hospital I had neglected food and had only ate once every two days. Already that was not a good thing, but adding the bonus that I was pregnant made me have to kick it up. Cece would usually come over everyday, sometimes twice, and make sure I was keeping up with everything.

I had managed to get all my school work shipped with my mom here. She had visited once more to convince me to come home, but after I told her no she pulled a stack of books and papers from her bag. She had assumed I would say that. I would usually do my work in Eli's hospital room or sometimes come home a little early and retreat to his room. I was somehow managing to function with reality still.

"Well I just got up, so I haven't eaten yet." I confessed, holding my stomach. It had been a habit to do this.

"Alright then, get dressed and we'll grab some on the way to the hospital."

_XXX_

"I just can't believe your pregnant, St. Clare." Ali said into the phone. She was on her lunch and I had been dying to find a way to tell her. "Your 18, moving out, engaged and having a baby. You just marched right into that, eh?"

"You can say that." I laughed. "I wouldn't say having a baby right before university was planned though, but what happens happens."

I was sitting next to Eli's bed, flipping through the channels on the television. They really had nothing though. Cece had made me a lunch and I was slowly nibbling on it. She had cut up veggies and dip and put in some fruits as well. Thankfully, she also made me brownies.

"How's Eli been doing? Any news from the doctors?" Ali asked. I shook my head.

"The doctors are useless. All they say is 'give it time'. Well if still after three weeks I have to 'give it time', I'm going to suggest he go through himself off a bridge."

"Woah there." Ali laughed. "A little edgy?"

"No my fiancé and baby's daddy is just in a coma, I'm not edgy at all." I snapped.

"Clare I was just kidding. I know your going through a lot and I'm sorry. It was just a joke."

"No, I'm sorry." I sighed. "I'm just... tired."

"And pregnant!" Ali coughed. We both laughed and then I heard a loud noise on the other end. "Oh, that's the bell, call me later? Love you Clare!"

"Sure, bye Ali." I hung up the phone and looked up at Eli. His expression was so ... smooth. He seemed relaxed.

I smiled and crawled into the bed next to him. I laid my head on his shoulder and place my hand in his. The beeping continued at a steady pace as I closed my eyes and held my stomach with my free hand. This was how it should be. The _three_ of us.

_XXX_

"Clare... Clare, wake up Honey... Clare."

I slowly opened my eyes. I looked up and realized I was still curled into Eli's motionless body.

"Clare, common, we'd better get you home." Cece gently helped me off the bed. I looked over at Eli and kissed his cheek.

"We'll see you tomorrow." I whispered, hugging my arms around my waist.

Cece guided us out the door and down the the main doors. Bullfrog already had the car in front. I climbed into the back seat as we drove back to Eli's apartment.

"Call me if you need anything." I nodded and hugged Cece around the shoulders.

"I will." I said into her hair. "Have a good night."

"You too, Clare."

She smiled as she walked out the door. I went to the window and watched her climb into the passenger seat and they pulled away. I walked into Eli's room, Sean had a late class tonight. I sat on the bed and stared at his laptop.

I was eager to watch his project video which he was constantly working on, however, I knew better than to touch it. Eli had wanted to keep it a secret until it was perfect. I knew he wouldn't want me to watch something he didn't think was good enough. It always shocked me how easily he'd knock himself over. His projects were always amazing, but he never thought so. He'd always compare it to someone else's work and how he wish he had changed that or this. It was always the same with him.

I turned out the light and tucked myself under the covers. The faster I went to sleep, the faster I'd be by Eli's side tomorrow.

_XXX_

_I'm a Barbie Girl in a Barbie world. Life is plastic, it's fantastic. You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere, imagination life is your creation. _

_I'm a Barbie Girl in a Barbie world. Life is plastic, it's fantastic. You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere, imagination life is your creation. _

I rolled over and grabbed my phone. Opening it so it would just shut up. I checked the time. It was 4 am. Who would be calling me at this hour?

"Hello?" I groaned into the phone.

"Clare Edwards?" A deep voice said into the phone. "This is Dr. Arnold from the St. Peter's Hospital, we have news about your fiancé, Eli Goldsworthy, you may want to come down here right away."

I dropped the phone and ran to grab Eli's truck keys on his desk.

* * *

**Uh oh. What do you guys think is going to happen at the hospital? Is Eli alright? Or has something bad happened? Lemme know your thoughts! :)**


	10. To Save A Life

**Well everyone, this journey has been amazing & I'm so happy I was able to share this with everyone and hopefully pulled a few tears from some people. Yes, this is the final chapter. It is just a coincidence how Degrassi's finale is on tonight as well ;) **

**Last time we saw Eli and Clare, Clare had got a phone call from the hospital... someone actually almost got it right on! Thanks for all the reviews, I was so excited to hear you all enjoying it. I'm sorry I never got this on earlier, but I hope this will take off some of the stress from the previous chapter. Hope everyone enjoys!**

* * *

To Save A Life

"Cece! Bullfrog!" I called, running up to them at the hospital. "What happened? Is he okay? Did something bad-"

"Clare!" Cece said, tears in her eyes. She held onto my shoulders and began weeping. I looked to Bullfrog who wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Eli's..." He hesitated then smiled. "He's awake, Clare."

I could feel the oxygen catching in my throat. I could feel myself standing as still as a statue. Eli was ... he was awake. He was okay. We were okay. I braced my arms around my waist and felt the tears bursting down my face. I fell against the wall and sank to a crouch.

Cece came to help me stand straight and embraced me in a hug. She kissed my cheek as we cried in each others arms.

After a few moments we pulled away and both started laughing at how foolish we were being.

"He asked for you." She whispered. I smiled and went to stand with my hand on the door handle. I looked through the window and saw him sitting up with his eyes closed. Had he fallen back to sleep?

I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, closing it softly behind me. I went to the foot of Eli's bed. I watched as his chest went up and down, no machines needed to do it for him. A tear slid down my cheek as I went to the chair I had been sitting in for the past few weeks.

Slowly sitting down I watched his relaxed face. He looked peaceful. His head turned to me, his eyes slowly fluttering open. I smiled as more tears dripped off my cheeks. Eli returned a smile and moved his hand to pull up the blanket. He scooted over as I climbed under the covers next to him. He wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed into his chest.

He kissed my head and rubbed my back as I put my ear to his steady heartbeat.

_XXX_

I rolled over, still dazed in sleep. Something pulled on my hair, twirling it. I sat unsure for a moment, then felt myself jolt. Eli.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw him smiling down at me. His fingers were playing with my hair. I turned into his side and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Ouch!" He jumped. I pulled away quickly. "Sorry, I did get shot you know."

I started to cry again and crushed my lips to his. I had missed him so much. Everything I had to go through to get to this moment, the hell I needed to drag myself through. I pulled away as my lips trembled against his.

"Don't cry, Clare." He whispered, putting our foreheads together. I nodded and tried my best to keep my tears contained.

"I missed you." I cried, my voice cracking. "I missed you everyday, Eli."

He put his hand on my cheek and waited for me to open my eyes. When I did he stared into mine and smiled slightly. He put his lips to mine, very gently. They barely touched as he pulled his free arm around my waist. I pressed my body into his side as we broke apart.

"I'm not going anywhere." He said quietly. I nodded and felt myself clinch.

Oh no. Not now. Please, please, please not now. I jumped from Eli's arms. I didn't read his facial expression as I ran into the washroom. I knelt beside the toilet and felt last night's dinner come up. I held my hair away from my face and closed my eyes.

"Clare?" Eli called from his bed. I could hear him trying to stand up from the bed. "Clare." He struggled.

"Don't worry." I called, spitting into the gross toilet water. "Just stay in bed."

"Are you okay?" Eli asked. I fell onto my butt and leaned against the wall. Eli was standing in the washroom doorway. He wore his nightgown and was leaning against a machine which had wires connected to his arm. His face was worried as he struggled to keep himself up. "Clare?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but words was not what came out. I leaned back over the toilet. Eli had his hand replacing mine, holding my hair away from my mouth.

When it finally finished I flushed and went to the sink, rinsing out the awful taste. Eli came to stand next to me and watched me carefully.

"Since when do you throw up in the morning?" Eli asked, raising an eyebrow.

I stood with my hands on either side of the sink and stared into the mirror at my reflection. I looked terrible. I was wearing one of Eli's concert shirts and still in my grey sweatpants. I sighed and closed my eyes. There was never going to be the perfect time to tell him. I sucked in air through my teeth then finally looked at Eli. He watched me carefully as he waited.

"Since I found out I was pregnant." I whispered.

I stood in front of Eli and waited for him. Waited for him to laugh thinking I was joking, or throw something out of anger. I had come to accept the fact I was going to be a mom, but after everything he had to go through... I wouldn't blame him. A child would be taking away most of our future. Our schooling would be harder to finish, not to mention all the extra costs.

"Say something." I finally spoke. Eli just stared at me.

"I-I'm... You're really pregnant?" I nodded slowly.

Eli moved himself and the small machine closer to me. He stared at my stomach and placed his hand overtop of it. I watched him carefully and felt my heart banging on my rib cage.

"I'm going to be a dad." Eli smiled, a tearing falling from his watering eye. "I'm going to be a dad!" He looked up into my eyes and smiled.

I felt my own tears of joy wash over me. Eli pulled me into a hug as he cried on my shoulder. I was overwhelmed with relief. Eli wanted this baby just as much as I did. When I first found out I thought I was mortified. There was so much more things I wanted to do before starting a family with Eli. I wasn't even sure at that time if Eli would be apart of that family.

"How long have ..." Eli asked, pulling away slowly. I felt myself laughing and held up my left hand, pointing to the ring. Eli smirked and nodded his head. "That long, huh?"

We both laughed as he kissed my lips softly.

_XXX_

**8 Months Later**

"Clare, are you sure you want brown? I don't want to have to drive all the way back up here because you don't like them anymore." I rolled my eyes and hit Eli gently in the stomach with my elbow.

"Shut up," I giggled. "I want brown so it goes well with the pink."

"Yes ma'am!" Eli tossed the drapes into the cart.

It was amazing how fast Eli had recovered from his coma. He stayed at the hospital for another week after he woke up and then finally was able to return to the apartment. Cece and Bullfrog stayed with him while I went back to Toronto and figured out ways to get my credits. All my assignments which my mom had emailed me were all handed in on time, but I still missed tests and important labs. I was coming home to finish exams, then flying back to Colorado.

Eli and I had rented out a different apartment which allowed us to move in at the end of June. Cece and Bullfrog stayed with him while I wrapped up exams. Although we had moved in half a year ago we didn't spend much time on fixing it up. We tried to save most of our money for our baby _girl_.

My first ultrasound was just before I left back to Toronto. Eli had wanted to be there for the first time and seeing as I would be going to the doctors while at home, we made an early appointment and went to see her. We weren't told we were having a girl until just a few months ago when we changed our mind about knowing the sex.

My vision of a beautiful baby Eli in my arms wasn't going to come true after all, but I knew that our little girl was going to be equally precious. We had bought all the furniture and painted the room a light pink, one wall a deep chocolate-brown. We were buying blankets and curtains to finish up her room. That was one thing we had the most troubles with, naming her.

_"Eclare?" Eli suggested. I looked up from my book and raised my eyebrow._

_"Naylia?" I repeated._

_"Yeah, why not? My name and your name mixed together. I think it's unique."_

_"I think it's a way for her to get bullied." I joked. Eli smiled and placed his head on the pillow beside me. _

_"I like the name... Roseietta." I shot him a look as he started laughing. "I take that as a no."_

_"I want her to have something original, Eli, but the names your throwing out are just a little... just meh."_

_"Violet?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Roge? Temerha? Jenelle? Cha-"_

_"Alba." I cut. Eli cocked his head in my direction._

_"What?" He asked. I put my book aside and laid on my back, drawing circles on my huge tummy._

_"I like the name Alba." I said again. _

_Eli rolled on his side and put his head on my shoulder. His hands went up my stomach and found mine at the top. He placed his on mine and sat up on his elbow. He smiled at me and the leaned in to kiss my lips. _

_"Alba Goldsworthy." He smiled._

"Clare, are you listening?" Eli said, snapping me back to reality. "I have class on Thursday and your mom wanted to come down this weekend. Why don't you invite her on Thursday instead of Friday? I don't like leaving you alone all day."

"That's a good idea." I agreed. We made our way to the checkout line.

Eli returned to class not long after leaving the hospital. He spoke with his professor and the school dean. He was given an extra two weeks for his course to catch up on the month he had loss. He struggled those two weeks. He didn't even call me at home until he had finished all of his work. The only way I knew he was still breathing was from talking to Cece.

As for me, I had decided to put off school for a year. I didn't want to have Alba and then have to drop her off at a babysitters and then deal with all the school work. For her first year I was going to be there for her. Eli only had classes twice a week. For the following year we were going to work our way around the days one of us has school to watch her. For the other days we planned on finding a babysitter. Although the money was heavily needed, our schooling was important too. Our parents bought us a bunch of food every time they came to see us. It usually lasted a month.

With our money going towards school, the baby, and our home we decided it would be best to put off our wedding until we were steadily on our feet. Eli was going to finish school and then I would finish not long after. We didn't need a ring to symbolize the love we had for each other. Plus, it would allow us to have Alba involved.

When we got back to the apartment we went straight into Alba's future room. Everything was assembled; the crib, diaper table, and the rocking chair my mother had use to nurse my sister and I. I went to pull out the brown blanket and gently folded it over the side of the crib.

In only a month Alba would be here. My stomach will slim and I'll have her in my arms. Eli was going to be fine if he continued his weekly visits to the physio, we were anticipating on finishing school, and we were ready to start our lives. Officially.

"What are you thinking about?" Eli asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He rubbed my stomach soothingly.

"Our future." I smiled. Eli kissed my neck and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"It's looking pretty bright, huh?"

"Well, we went through hell, it's about time we recover and come up from the gutters."

"When your going through hell, keep going."

I turned in his arms and placed my hands on his shoulders. My stomach didn't allow us to get very close. Eli put his nose against mine and kissed the tip of it.

"Eli." I started, feeling my voice cracking. "I never said thank you."

"For what?" Eli asked, taken back.

"You saved my life." I whispered. Eli placed a hand on my cheek and put our foreheads together.

"Clare," He smiled. "You were there for me through it all, even before I blacked out I tried telling you to run, but the dumb girl that you are stood there holding a man twice your size."

"I wasn't just going to leave you."

"Exactly what I'm getting at." Eli whispered. "If you would have left me there, I wouldn't be _here_. I wouldn't be standing in my daughter's room with the woman I love. We saved each other Clare. As silly as you were being, I'm glad you did. Don't ever be think for a minute that I was the only one saved that night, Clare. Ever. Your just as much the hero as I am."

I nodded slowly and kissed him slowly.

"I love you." I whispered on his lips.

"Thank you." Eli said.

"For what?"

Eli placed his hands on my stomach and stared into my eyes. He smiled and moved his face closer to mine.

"For saving my life in every way possible."

* * *

**I hope everyone enjoyed this story! I hope to make more Eclare stories in the future, we have some time until we get to see them on-screen again. **

**Again, to all families and loved ones who had lost someone in the Colorado shooting last month, I am greatly sorry for your loss. No one deserves to have their life taken away from them, especially in a place and way like them. Forever & always in my prayers. **

**To everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed I want to say thank you SO much. It has been such a blast being able to read all your comments and hear all your ideas and suggestions. I'm so happy to hear that some people actually cried! (Not in a bad way I'm hoping;)) It really means a lot to know that you all can get so into the story. I have noticed some of the people who have followed me since the beginning and again, HUGE thanks. Your all so amazing & I'm so proud to have been able to write something you could enjoy. I hope everyone has a fantastic time watching tonight's episode. Hopefully lots of Eclare! **

**Farewell all you amazing people! ;)**


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